Shares in animal care firm Pets at Home fell by 3% on Tuesday after its biggest shareholder sold almost half of its stake for £288 million.

US buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts sold 108 million shares, or 21.6% of the business, at 267p a share leaving it with a 24.6% holding.

Following the sale shares in Pets at Home, which runs 400 pets stores and 338 vets' practices, slipped 3%.

The Cheshire-based company has ridden the rising wave of pet pampering across the UK, and earlier this week said it would roll out a new chain of high-street dog spas called Barkers.

KKR bought Pets at Home from private equity rival Bridgepoint in 2010 for £995m. The pet care and products retailer floated on the London market in March last year at 245p a share, valuing it at £1.2bn.

In a regulatory announcement on Tuesday, KKR said it was placing 108m shares at 267p each, leaving it with a 25.2 per cent stake. It previously held 46.8 per cent of Pets at Home.

Reports have emerged that KKR may have another retailer in its sites. Supermarket chain Tesco has invited at least six firms, including KKR, to bid for its South Korean unit Homeplus, valued at about $6bn (£3.9bn).